Cop Accused Of Tipping Off Suspect Reinstated

City May Appeal Judge's Decision

July 03, 1998|By Andrew Martin, Tribune Staff Writer.

A Cook County judge has ordered that a former Chicago police officer be reinstated to the job from which she was fired for tipping off a man she had been dating that he was the subject of a stakeout by narcotics investigators.

Jaffe thought the evidence was not sufficient to show that Howell had tipped the drug suspect that he was under surveillance, said Jennifer Hoyle, a spokeswoman for the city's Law Department.

Jaffe's decision means that Howell, who was fired in February 1996, could return to work within 30 days. But city attorneys may appeal the decision, which would hold up her reinstatement indefinitely, Hoyle said.

Neither Howell, who joined the police force in 1991, nor her attorney, R. Eugene Pincham, could be reached for comment.

In a court filing, Pincham argued that there was "not one iota, not one scintilla and not one bit of evidence" that Howell tipped off her boyfriend about the police stakeout.

If Howell is reinstated, she would likely receive back pay from the day she was fired, city officials said.

Despite the ruling, Police Supt. Terry Hillard said through a spokesman that he still supports Howell's firing.

"(Hillard) is asking the Law Department to appeal it and to do whatever they can to keep this woman off the force," said police spokesman Pat Camden.

Jaffe's ruling was met with indignation by several police officers, who said that Howell could have jeopardized her colleagues' lives by exposing the stakeout.

"People are crying that the Police Department is not doing anything to get rid of bad apples," said one police veteran who worked in the narcotics unit for 14 years. "You can't get any worse than this. If you work in narcotics, you are already outmanned, you're already outgunned. Now you got one of our own against us."

Phillip Adamovitz, a recently retired Chicago police sergeant who worked in the narcotics unit for eight years, said he didn't think anyone would want to work with Howell, given the allegations against her.

The case dates to Nov. 18, 1993.

About 5 p.m., four Chicago police officers assigned to the narcotics unit set up surveillance on a man suspected of dealing drugs, court records show.

At the same time, Howell, an officer in the Deering District on the South Side, was patrolling with her partner in a squad car. Howell had been dating the suspect for about two months and told investigators that she thought he was a tailor, court records show.

About 5:45 p.m., Howell called the man from her cellular phone, records show, and a short time later, Howell and her partner drove outside their assigned beat to question the occupants of a car parked a short distance from the suspect's home in the 5300 block of South Bishop Street.

Howell later testified that she was suspicious because the driver of what turned out to be an unmarked squad car was a Hispanic man in an African-American neighborhood.

Records show the investigator, Louis Garcia, flashed his police badge, though accounts differ on whether Garcia said he was conducting surveillance.

While Howell was speaking to Garcia, the suspect left the house and drove away, court documents show.

Howell and her partner drove away and met up with the man a few blocks away about 6:10 p.m., according to court records, which also show that Howell walked up to his car, got inside and remained there for half an hour.

The meeting was witnessed by several narcotics officers who said they had trailed Berry after he drove from his home.